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A recent study of people who had successfully lost weight and implemen
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Updated on: 06 Apr 2019, 02:52

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C

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E

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A recent study of people who had successfully lost weight and implemented regular exercise routines in their twenties found that, by the age of forty, most had gained back the weight, stopped exercising regularly, or both. Surprisingly, among the study's subjects who had hired personal trainers to help them lose weight and exercise in their twenties, an even higher percentage had regained the weight or stopped exercising than among subjects who had not hired such trainers. The researchers concluded not only that remaining on an effective weight management and exercise program is difficult, but also that personal trainers are largely ineffective in helping people to remain on an effective weight management and exercise program.

Which of the following, if true, most weakens the argument in the passage above?

(A) Subjects in the study who had hired personal trainers had, on average, more free time to exercise than did those who had not hired such trainers.

(B) Some people hire personal trainers for sport-specific training or to rehabilitate injuries, rather than to lose weight or implement a regular exercise program.

(C) The average person's metabolism slows significantly between the ages of thirty and forty, making it more difficult for people aged forty or older to avoid weight gain.

(D) Many of the personal trainers hired by the people in the study were also dietitians who helped their clients design meal plans.

(E) Most people who hire personal trainers do so, at least in part, because they lack sufficient motivation to remain on a diet or exercise regimen by themselves.

Re: A recent study of people who had successfully lost weight and implemen
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16 Sep 2012, 01:22

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1

ravstime wrote:

A recent study of people who had successfully lost weight and implemented regular exercise routines in their twenties found that, by the age of forty, most had gained back the weight, stopped exercising regularly, or both. Surprisingly, among the study's subjects who had hired personal trainers to help them lose weight and exercise in their twenties, an even higher percentage had regained the weight or stopped exercising than among subjects who had not hired such trainers. The researchers concluded not only that remaining on an effective weight management and exercise program is difficult, but also that personal trainers are largely ineffective in helping people to remain on an effective weight management and exercise program.

Which of the following, if true, most weakens the argument in the passage above?

A. Subjects in the study who had hired personal trainers had, on average, more free time to exercise than did those who had not hired such trainers. B. Some people hire personal trainers for sport-specific training or to rehabilitate injuries, rather than to lose weight or implement a regular exercise program. C. The average person's metabolism slows significantly between the ages of thirty and forty, making it more difficult for people aged forty or older to avoid weight gain. D. Many of the personal trainers hired by the people in the study were also dietitians who helped their clients design meal plans. E. Most people who hire personal trainers do so, at least in part, because they lack sufficient motivation to remain on a diet or exercise regimen by themselves.

I selected option C because it targets the cause mentioned in the conclusion..... Can someone explain the correct ans?

Correct Choice is E.According to C all subjects in the study will regain weight and there will be no difference between groups with PT and groups without PT.The conclusion is "The researchers concluded not only that remaining on an effective weight management and exercise program is difficult, but also that personal trainers are largely ineffective in helping people to remain on an effective weight management and exercise program."E brings out an alternate reasoning by showing that people with PT were partly lacking sufficient motivation to remain on diet & exercise. So the conclusion that PT are ineffective is falsified.
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Re: A recent study of people who had successfully lost weight and implemen
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18 Sep 2012, 08:03

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ravstime wrote:

A recent study of people who had successfully lost weight and implemented regular exercise routines in their twenties found that, by the age of forty, most had gained back the weight, stopped exercising regularly, or both. Surprisingly, among the study's subjects who had hired personal trainers to help them lose weight and exercise in their twenties, an even higher percentage had regained the weight or stopped exercising than among subjects who had not hired such trainers. The researchers concluded not only that remaining on an effective weight management and exercise program is difficult, but also that personal trainers are largely ineffective in helping people to remain on an effective weight management and exercise program.

Which of the following, if true, most weakens the argument in the passage above?

A. Subjects in the study who had hired personal trainers had, on average, more free time to exercise than did those who had not hired such trainers. B. Some people hire personal trainers for sport-specific training or to rehabilitate injuries, rather than to lose weight or implement a regular exercise program. C. The average person's metabolism slows significantly between the ages of thirty and forty, making it more difficult for people aged forty or older to avoid weight gain. D. Many of the personal trainers hired by the people in the study were also dietitians who helped their clients design meal plans. E. Most people who hire personal trainers do so, at least in part, because they lack sufficient motivation to remain on a diet or exercise regimen by themselves.

I selected option C because it targets the cause mentioned in the conclusion..... Can someone explain the correct ans?

Premise - A recent study of people who had successfully lost weight and implemented regular exercise routines in their twenties found that, by the age of forty, most had gained back the weight, stopped exercising regularly, or both. Surprisingly, among the study's subjects who had hired personal trainers to help them lose weight and exercise in their twenties, an even higher percentage had regained the weight or stopped exercising than among subjects who had not hired such trainers.

Conclusion - The researchers concluded not only that remaining on an effective weight management and exercise program is difficult, but also that personal trainers are largely ineffective in helping people to remain on an effective weight management and exercise program.

Anything which weakens the conclusion is our answer

A. Subjects in the study who had hired personal trainers had, on average, more free time to exercise than did those who had not hired such trainers. (Irrelevant)B. Some people hire personal trainers for sport-specific training or to rehabilitate injuries, rather than to lose weight or implement a regular exercise program. (Irrelevant)C. The average person's metabolism slows significantly between the ages of thirty and forty, making it more difficult for people aged forty or older to avoid weight gain. (This should be common to all and not just to those who exercised or maintained trainer)D. Many of the personal trainers hired by the people in the study were also dietitians who helped their clients design meal plans. (It does not help us in anyway, although close)E. Most people who hire personal trainers do so, at least in part, because they lack sufficient motivation to remain on a diet or exercise regimen by themselves. (This is our answer, it shows that personal trainers were more of a source of motivation than just trainers. So by 40’s the people in the survey had no trainer and no motivation to do exercise and thus gained weight)

Re: A recent study of people who had successfully lost weight and implemen
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16 Jul 2017, 07:32

A recent study of people who had successfully lost weight and implemented regular exercise routines in their twenties found that, by the age of forty, most had gained back the weight, stopped exercising regularly, or both. Surprisingly, among the study's subjects who had hired personal trainers to help them lose weight and exercise in their twenties, an even higher percentage had regained the weight or stopped exercising than among subjects who had not hired such trainers. The researchers concluded not only that remaining on an effective weight management and exercise program is difficult, but also that personal trainers are largely ineffective in helping people to remain on an effective weight management and exercise program.

Which of the following, if true, most weakens the argument in the passage above?

I am having doubt with respect to the following two options. Can someone please elaborate more on the following options

A. Subjects in the study who had hired personal trainers had, on average, more free time to exercise than did those who had not hired such trainers.I am not getting at all what this option means and can do with respect to the conclusion in the above argument.

D. Many of the personal trainers hired by the people in the study were also dietitians who helped their clients design meal plans.As per my understanding, if many of the personal trainers were also dietitians then they can not be largely ineffective in helping people instead they could be more effective. It weakens the conclusion. So, how is this option statement wrong, can anyone please explain?_________________

Regards,Varun

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Re: A recent study of people who had successfully lost weight and implemen
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16 Jul 2017, 18:49

1

Hi Varun,

Here are my thoughts:

vnigam21 wrote:

A. Subjects in the study who had hired personal trainers had, on average, more free time to exercise than did those who had not hired such trainers.I am not getting at all what this option means and can do with respect to the conclusion in the above argument.

This option says that people (who hired personal trainers) had more time to exercise than other people. Now, if they had more time to exercise, they should have done better. However, from the passage, we know that these people (with trainers) actually did worse. Right? So, it only supports the conclusion.

vnigam21 wrote:

D. Many of the personal trainers hired by the people in the study were also dietitians who helped their clients design meal plans.As per my understanding, if many of the personal trainers were also dietitians then they can not be largely ineffective in helping people instead they could be more effective. It weakens the conclusion. So, how is this option statement wrong, can anyone please explain?

Even if those personal trainers were Gods who could everything, the data given in the passage still stands as is. The data says that people with personal trainers performed even worse. Right?

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E seems to weaken only the underline portion of the argument but not the bold part of the argument

A recent study of people who had successfully lost weight and implemented regular exercise routines in their twenties found that, by the age of forty, most had gained back the weight, stopped exercising regularly, or both. Surprisingly, among the study's subjects who had hired personal trainers to help them lose weight and exercise in their twenties, an even higher percentage had regained the weight or stopped exercising than among subjects who had not hired such trainers. The researchers concluded not only that remaining on an effective weight management and exercise program is difficult, but also that personal trainers are largely ineffective in helping people to remain on an effective weight management and exercise program.

Which of the following, if true, most weakens the argument in the passage above?

a)Subjects in the study who had hired personal trainers had, on average, more free time to exercise than did those who had not hired such trainers.b)Some people hire personal trainers for sport-specific training or to rehabilitate injuries, rather than to lose weight or implement a regular exercise program.c)The average person's metabolism slows significantly between the ages of thirty and forty, making it more difficult for people aged forty or older to avoid weight gain.d)Many of the personal trainers hired by the people in the study were also dietitians who helped their clients design meal plans.e)Most people who hire personal trainers do so, at least in part, because they lack sufficient motivation to remain on a diet or exercise regimen by themselves

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E seems to weaken only the underline portion of the argument but not the bold part of the argument

A recent study of people who had successfully lost weight and implemented regular exercise routines in their twenties found that, by the age of forty, most had gained back the weight, stopped exercising regularly, or both. Surprisingly, among the study's subjects who had hired personal trainers to help them lose weight and exercise in their twenties, an even higher percentage had regained the weight or stopped exercising than among subjects who had not hired such trainers. The researchers concluded not only that remaining on an effective weight management and exercise program is difficult, but also that personal trainers are largely ineffective in helping people to remain on an effective weight management and exercise program.

Which of the following, if true, most weakens the argument in the passage above?

a)Subjects in the study who had hired personal trainers had, on average, more free time to exercise than did those who had not hired such trainers.b)Some people hire personal trainers for sport-specific training or to rehabilitate injuries, rather than to lose weight or implement a regular exercise program.c)The average person's metabolism slows significantly between the ages of thirty and forty, making it more difficult for people aged forty or older to avoid weight gain.d)Many of the personal trainers hired by the people in the study were also dietitians who helped their clients design meal plans.e)Most people who hire personal trainers do so, at least in part, because they lack sufficient motivation to remain on a diet or exercise regimen by themselves

This is tricky, because we need to infer some context from the passage here. The passage starts off by stating that most people gain back weight that they had lost when they were younger. This is just background, contextual information. The argument really starts with the second line: Surprisingly, among the study's subjects who had hired personal trainers to help them lose weight and exercise in their twenties, an even higher percentage had regained the weight or stopped exercising than among subjects who had not hired such trainers. This is the main discrepancy that the argument is focusing on, not the fact that people gain weight as they get older -- that's not surprising. The argument is basically taking it as a given that remaining on an effective weight management and exercise program is difficult. That isn't really part of the conclusion, it just provides the basis for the conclusion to jump off from. The main conclusion here is that personal trainers are largely ineffective in helping people to remain on an effective weight management and exercise program.

When we see the structure: "not only...but also", then it is often the case that the part following "not only" is something that is already widely accepted as fact. The main argument lies in the second part, following "but also", which is what is emphasized. Usually, context clues from the rest of the argument (as here) can help us determine when this is the case. So choice C doesn't address the main part of the argument.

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01 Apr 2018, 10:23

MagooshExpert wrote:

Happy to help

This is tricky, because we need to infer some context from the passage here. The passage starts off by stating that most people gain back weight that they had lost when they were younger. This is just background, contextual information. The argument really starts with the second line: Surprisingly, among the study's subjects who had hired personal trainers to help them lose weight and exercise in their twenties, an even higher percentage had regained the weight or stopped exercising than among subjects who had not hired such trainers. This is the main discrepancy that the argument is focusing on, not the fact that people gain weight as they get older -- that's not surprising. The argument is basically taking it as a given that remaining on an effective weight management and exercise program is difficult. That isn't really part of the conclusion, it just provides the basis for the conclusion to jump off from. The main conclusion here is that personal trainers are largely ineffective in helping people to remain on an effective weight management and exercise program.

When we see the structure: "not only...but also", then it is often the case that the part following "not only" is something that is already widely accepted as fact. The main argument lies in the second part, following "but also", which is what is emphasized. Usually, context clues from the rest of the argument (as here) can help us determine when this is the case. So choice C doesn't address the main part of the argument.

Hope that helps! -Carolyn

Thank you, this was really helpful in understanding why C isn't the right answer. Damn it, CR is BRUTAL.

Re: A recent study of people who had successfully lost weight and implemen
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06 Apr 2019, 02:46

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